Choupette, a mid-segment children’s wear brand from Russia is set to move
into new European markets. The Moscow-based label revealed to FashionUnited
that it aims to open its first stand-alone store in London in spring 2018.

“The store in London is likely to open sometime next spring, but the most
important thing is to choose the right location, so we are now looking at
different areas in London,” said Anatasia Vasilkova, director of
development at Choupette to FashionUnited RU. Choupette hopes to open its
store near one of London’s busiest shopping areas, Oxford Street, but aims
to secure the best location to best suit its brand offering and market
positioning.

Choupette to move into new European markets

The brand specialises in offering high-end baby and children’s wear as well
as homeware, producing its own products in Russia. Its design studio works
together with a fashion agency based in New York to ensure its collections
are always on trend and up to the premium standards. Choupette, which
offers apparel for infants and children up to the age of 10, currently runs
a number of flagship stores in Moscow, Russia as well as stores in the
Ukraine and Armenia. The brand opened its first store in the United States
in Los Angeles three years ago and opened its first store in Geneva,
Switzerland in 2016.

In addition to setting its sights on expanding to the UK, Choupette also
aims to open its first mono-brand stores in Spain and Germany next year.
The brand has yet to decide on the location of its store in Barcelona, as
they are deciding between opening the store in a shopping centre or city
centre. “At the moment we represent the brand in Europe through a franchise
system. The stores look just like our stores in Russia, offering the full
assortment of collections, branded furniture, a carousel. But now our task
is to expand to new markets through the opening of mono-branded stores,”
said Vasilkova.

Following the opening of its first stand-alone stores, Choupette also aims
to move into international wholesale to help build its brand’s presence
abroad. "But in our opinion, this is a narrower path, because when you work
with multibrand companies and your brand is poorly represented in this or
that market, then it can ruin you,” warns Vasilkova. “That is why we want
to first open our stand-alone stores and then move into wholesale.”

The children's wear brand has made a name for itself in its home market
thanks to its romantic, lace ruffle dresses and multi-colour patterned
designs. At the moment Choupette operates over 80 franchised stores in
Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.